ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Barasch - Strategist
Dan Barasch’s grandmother grew up in New York’s Lower East Side. Now, he’s building an underground park in her old neighborhood, where greenspace is limited.

Why you should listen

Dan Barasch is the co-founder and executive director of the Lowline, an underground park that is being developed underneath the streets of New York City—in the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal. In use from 1908 to 1948, this terminal is now abandoned. The Lowline will be a one-acre park in a neighborhood where greenspace is hard to come by. The project uses innovative solar technology to capture light above ground and distribute it below, making it a space that can be used in all four seasons. Once a wild idea, the project got a big boost on Kickstarter, raising more than $155,000 for its development in 2012. The project promises to be the inverse of New York's High Line.

Barasch has long known that he wanted to make a difference, but for years, wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. Before he left his job to work fultime on the Lowline, he led strategic partnerships at PopTech; held multiple roles at Google; and worked in small business development in New York City government. He also consulted for UNICEF in Nairobi and with the 9/11 Survivors’ Fund in Washington DC. He began his career at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, co-producing the weekly NPR show “It’s Your World.”

More profile about the speaker
Dan Barasch | Speaker | TED.com
TED@NYC

Dan Barasch: A park underneath the hustle and bustle of New York City

丹·巴拉斯克: 地下花园

Filmed:
934,267 views

丹·巴拉斯克和詹姆斯·拉姆齐有一个疯狂的计划——创建一个公园,一个充满绿色、位于纽约城地下的公园。他们两个正在建造地下花园——一个足球场大小的地下绿色空间。他们将它建在一个1948就被废弃的电车站,使用科技将地表上的阳光收集起来然后导进地下。这是一个即使在冬天也会呈现出繁荣景象的公园。
- Strategist
Dan Barasch’s grandmother grew up in New York’s Lower East Side. Now, he’s building an underground park in her old neighborhood, where greenspace is limited. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
My dream梦想 is to build建立 the world's世界 first
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我的梦想是在纽约
00:14
underground地下 park公园 in New York纽约 City.
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建造世界上第一个地下公园
00:17
Now, why would someone有人 want
to build建立 an underground地下 park公园,
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为什么会有人想建地下公园
00:19
and why in New York纽约 City?
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并且是建在纽约呢?
00:23
These three tough强硬 little buggers坏蛋
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这三个结实的小家伙
00:24
are, on the left, my grandmother祖母, age年龄 five,
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分别是:左边的 我奶奶 5岁
00:27
and then her sister妹妹 and brother哥哥,
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然后是她的姐姐和哥哥
00:29
ages年龄 11 and nine.
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他们分别11岁和9岁。
00:30
This photo照片 was taken采取 just before they left
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这张照片是在他们离开意大利
00:32
from Italy意大利 to immigrate移民 to the United联合的 States状态,
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移民到美国时照的
00:35
just about a century世纪 ago.
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大概是在一个世纪以前
00:37
And like many许多 immigrants移民 at the time,
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就像当时的许多移民一样
00:39
they arrived到达 on the Lower降低 East Side
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他们抵达了纽约市的
00:41
in New York纽约 City
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下东区
00:42
and they encountered遇到 a crazy melting融化 pot.
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他们遇到了一个种族大熔炉
00:45
What was amazing惊人 about their generation
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他们那一代令人惊讶之处在于
00:46
was that they were not only building建造 new lives生活
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他们不仅是在这块崭新的 陌生的地区
00:49
in this new, unfamiliar陌生 area,
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建立新生活
00:51
but they were also literally按照字面 building建造 the city.
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而且事实上他们也在建设这座城市
00:54
I've always been fascinated入迷 by those decades几十年
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我一直对那几十年 那段历史
00:56
and by that history历史,
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心驰神往
00:57
and I would often经常 beg my grandmother祖母
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我常常请求我的祖母
01:00
to tell me as many许多 stories故事 as possible可能
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给我尽可能多讲讲
01:01
about the old New York纽约.
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旧纽约的故事
01:03
But she would often经常 just shrug it off,
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但是她常常只是耸耸肩
01:06
tell me to eat more meatballs肉丸, more pasta意大利面,
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告诉我多吃内丸和意大利面
01:08
and so I very rarely很少 got
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因此我很少能得到
01:10
any of the history历史 that I wanted to hear about.
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任何那段我想要了解的历史信息
01:13
The New York纽约 City that I encountered遇到
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我所遇到的这座纽约城
01:14
felt pretty漂亮 built内置 up.
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已经完全建好
01:16
I always knew知道 as a kid孩子 that I wanted
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在我还小的时候 我就知道我想要
01:18
to make a difference区别, and to somehow不知何故
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让这个世界变得不同 并以某种方法
01:20
make the world世界 more beautiful美丽, more interesting有趣
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使得这个世界更美丽 更有趣
01:22
and more just.
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更公正
01:23
I just didn't really know how.
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我只是不知道如何去实现它
01:25
At first, I thought I wanted to go work abroad国外,
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一开始我觉得我想要到国外去工作
01:26
so I took a job工作 with UNICEF联合国儿童基金会 in Kenya肯尼亚.
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所以我在联合国儿童基金会找了一个去肯尼亚的工作
01:29
But it felt weird奇怪的 to me that I knew知道 more about
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让我觉得不可思议的是 我对肯尼亚当地政治
01:31
local本地 Kenyan肯尼亚 politics政治 than the
politics政治 of my own拥有 hometown家乡.
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要比对自己家乡的政治更了解
01:35
I took a job工作 with the City of New York纽约,
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我在纽约市谋了一份工作
01:37
but very quickly很快 felt frustrated受挫
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但是很快就对政府官僚主义的缓慢作风
01:39
with the slowness缓慢 of government政府 bureaucracy官僚.
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感到沮丧
01:42
I even took a job工作 at Google谷歌,
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我甚至在谷歌谋得了一份工作
01:44
where very fast快速 I drank the Kool-Aid库尔急救
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在那里我很快就随波逐流了
01:47
and believed相信 almost几乎 wholeheartedly竭诚
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并且几乎完全相信
01:48
that technology技术 could solve解决 all social社会 problems问题.
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科技可以解决所有的社会问题
01:52
But I still didn't feel like I was
making制造 the world世界 a better place地点.
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但我仍然不觉得我正在使这个世界变得更好
01:55
It was in 2009 that my friend朋友
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2009年 我的朋友
01:57
and now business商业 partner伙伴 James詹姆士 Ramsey拉姆齐
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兼现在的商业伙伴詹姆斯·拉姆齐
01:59
alerted惊动 me to the location位置 of a pretty漂亮 spectacular壮观 site现场,
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使我留意到了一个非常壮观的景点
02:02
which哪一个 is this.
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就是这个
02:04
This is the former前任的 trolley手推车 terminal终奌站
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这是一个从前的电车站
02:06
that was the depot仓库 for passengers乘客
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是一个为那些
02:08
traveling旅行 over the Williamsburg威廉斯堡 Bridge
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穿过威廉斯堡大桥
02:10
from Brooklyn布鲁克林 to Manhattan曼哈顿,
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从布鲁克林到曼哈顿的乘客所使用的车站
02:12
and it was open打开 between之间 1908 and 1948,
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它在1908年至1948年间运营
02:15
just around the time when my grandparents祖父母 were
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刚好差不多是我的祖父母
02:18
living活的 right in the area.
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也生活在这个区域的时间
02:19
And we learned学到了 also that the site现场
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我们还了解到这个车站
02:21
was entirely完全 abandoned in 1948.
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在1948年被彻底地废弃了
02:24
Fascinated入迷 by this discovery发现,
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由于被这个发现深深地吸引了
02:26
we begged the authorities当局 to draw us into the space空间,
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我们请求官方让我们进入这里
02:29
and we finally最后 got a tour游览,
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并且最终我们成行了
02:31
and this is what we saw.
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这就是我们当时所看到的
02:33
Now, this photo照片 doesn't really do it justice正义.
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这张照片并不能真实地反映当时的情况
02:35
It's kind of hard to imagine想像 the unbelievably令人难以置信 magical神奇
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你很难想象那种当你进入这个空间时
02:37
feeling感觉 that you have when you get in this space空间.
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所获得的难以置信的神奇感受
02:40
It's a football足球 field领域 of unused没用过 land土地
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它直接位于城市最拥挤的区域之下
02:43
immediately立即 below下面 a very crowded area of the city,
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是一块足球场大小的闲置用地
02:47
and it almost几乎 feels感觉 like you're Indiana印地安那 Jones琼斯
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身处其中 感觉自己就像是考古现场的
02:49
on an archaeological考古学的 dig,
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印第安纳·琼斯
02:51
and all the details细节 are all still there.
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所有的细节都还全部保留在那里
02:52
It's really pretty漂亮 remarkable卓越.
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这真的是非同寻常
02:54
Now, the site现场 itself本身 is located位于 at the very heart
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现在 这个地方位于下东区
02:57
of the Lower降低 East Side,
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非常核心的区域
02:59
and today今天 it still remains遗迹 one of the most
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并且今天它仍然是这座城市
03:00
crowded neighborhoods社区 in the city.
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最拥挤的社区之一
03:02
New York纽约 City has two thirds三分之二 the green绿色 space空间
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纽约的人均绿色空间
03:04
per resident居民 as other big cities城市,
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是其它大城市的三分之二
03:06
and this neighborhood邻里 as one tenth第十 the green绿色 space空间.
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而这个社区更是只有十分之一
03:09
So we immediately立即 started开始 thinking思维 about how we
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所以我们马上开始思考我们可以怎样
03:11
could take this site现场 and turn it into something
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利用这个地方 并将它变成
03:13
that could be used for the public上市,
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能够为公众所用的东西
03:15
but also could potentially可能 even be green绿色.
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甚至有可能变成绿地
03:17
Our plan计划, in a nutshell简而言之,
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我们的计划 简而言之
03:19
is to draw natural自然 sunlight阳光 underground地下
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就是将自然光引入地下
03:21
using运用 a simple简单 system系统 that
harvests收成 sunlight阳光 above以上 the street,
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使用一个简单的系统收集街上的阳光
03:24
directs指导 it below下面 the city sidewalks人行道,
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然后将它导入城市人行道的地下
03:27
and would allow允许 plants植物 and trees树木 to grow增长
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并且利用这些导入地下的阳光
03:29
with the light that's directed针对 underneath.
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来种植花草树木
03:31
With this approach途径, you could take a site现场
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通过这种方法 你可以将一个
03:33
that looks容貌 like this today今天
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现在看起来是这个样子的地方
03:35
and transform转变 it into something
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变成
03:37
that looks容貌 like this.
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看起来像这样的地方
03:39
In 2011, we first released发布 some of these images图片,
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2011年 我们首次发布了这些设计图中的一部分
03:43
and what was funny滑稽 was,
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有趣的是
03:45
a lot of people said to us, "Oh, it kind of looks容貌
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很多人对我们说 哇 它看起来
03:47
like the High Line线 underground地下."
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有点像是地下的空中花园
03:49
And so what our nickname昵称 ended结束 up becoming变得,
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这就是我们的昵称的由来
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and what ended结束 up sticking症结,
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并且我们最终决定用这个名称
03:55
was the LowlineLOWLINE, so the LowlineLOWLINE was born天生.
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地下花园(Lowline) 地下花园就这样诞生了
03:58
What was also clear明确 was that people really wanted
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还有一点也很清楚 人们真的
03:59
to know a lot more about how the technology技术
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想更加了解这项技术
04:01
would look and feel,
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是如何表现的
04:03
and that there was really much more interest利益 in this
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这比我们之前可能想像的
04:05
than we had ever thought possible可能.
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要有趣得多
04:07
So, like a crazy person, I decided决定 to quit放弃 my job工作
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困此 就像个疯子一样 我决定辞职
04:09
and focus焦点 entirely完全 on this project项目.
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并且完全投入到这个项目中去
04:11
Here is us with our team球队
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这是我们和我们的团队
04:13
putting together一起 a technology技术 demonstration示范
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一起在一个仓库
04:16
in a warehouse仓库.
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举行的技术展示
04:18
Here's这里的 the underbelly软肋 of this solar太阳能 canopy华盖
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这个是太阳能天篷的下部
04:21
which哪一个 we built内置 to show显示 the technology技术.
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我们用以展示这项技术
04:23
You can see the six solar太阳能 collectors收藏家 at the center中央 there.
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你可以看到 在它中间有六个太阳能收集器
04:26
And here's这里的 the full充分 exhibit展示 all put together一起
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这将所有的东西组装在一起
04:29
in this warehouse仓库.
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然后在这个仓库里展示
04:30
You can see the solar太阳能 canopy华盖 overhead高架,
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你可以看到天花板上的太阳能天篷
04:32
the light streaming in,
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阳光倾泄而下
04:33
and this entirely完全 live生活 green绿色 space空间 below下面.
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这完完全全是一个地下的绿色空间
04:36
So in the course课程 of just a few少数 weeks,
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所以在短短几周之内
04:37
tens of thousands数千 of people came来了 to see our exhibit展示,
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成千上万的人过来看我们的展览
04:41
and since以来 that time, we've我们已经 grown长大的
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并且从那时开始 我们的支持者——
04:42
our numbers数字 of supporters支持者 both locally本地
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有本地的 还有世界各地的设计爱好者
04:45
and among其中 design设计 enthusiasts发烧友 all over the world世界.
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数量都不断增长
04:47
Here's这里的 a rendering翻译 of the neighborhood邻里
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这个是地下花园正上方
04:49
just immediately立即 above以上 the Line's线的 site现场,
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社区的效果图
04:52
and a rendering翻译 of how it will look
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以及在接下来的十年里
04:54
after major重大的 redevelopment重建 that is coming未来
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当主要重建完成以后的
04:56
over the course课程 of the next下一个 10 years年份.
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效果图
04:58
Notice注意 how crowded the neighborhood邻里 still feels感觉
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请注意这个社区看起啦仍然十分拥挤
05:00
and how there's really a lack缺乏 of green绿色 space空间.
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这里十分缺少绿色空间
05:02
So what we're proposing建议 is really something that will
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所以我们的提议就是
05:05
add one football足球 field领域 of green绿色 space空间
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在这个社区的地下 增加一个
05:09
underneath this neighborhood邻里, but more importantly重要的
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足球场大小的绿色空间 但更重要是
05:12
will introduce介绍 a really community-driven社区驱动 focus焦点
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在一个迅速富裕的区域
05:14
in a rapidly急速 gentrifyinggentrifying area.
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引进一个真正社区主导的中心
05:16
And right now, we're focusing调焦 very closely密切
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现在 我们正密切地聚焦在
05:18
on how we engage从事 with the City of New York纽约
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如何与纽约市政府合作
05:21
on really transforming转型 the overall总体 ecosystem生态系统
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用以综合方式 真正改变
05:24
in an integrated集成 way.
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整个生态系统
05:26
Here's这里的 our rendering翻译 of how we would actually其实
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这里展示了我们将会如何
05:28
invite邀请 people into the space空间 itself本身.
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邀请人们进入这个空间
05:30
So here you see this iconic标志性的 entrance入口
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你可以看到这个标志性的入口
05:32
in which哪一个 we would literally按照字面 peel up the street
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准确地说 我们把这个街面掀开
05:34
and reveal揭示 the historical历史的 layers of the city,
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将这个城市的历史层次揭示出来
05:37
and invite邀请 people into this warm underground地下 space空间.
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邀请民众进入这个温暖的地下空间
05:40
In the middle中间 of winter冬季, when it's
absolutely绝对 freezing冷冻 outside,
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隆冬时节 当外面已经非常寒冷时
05:43
the last place地点 you'd want to go would be
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你最不想去的地方可能就是
05:44
an outdoor户外 space空间 or outdoor户外 park公园.
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室外或者公园
05:46
The LowlineLOWLINE would really be a four-season四季 space空间
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地下花园将会真正成为一个四季皆宜的空间
05:48
and a respite喘息 for the city.
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成为这个城市的缓解区域
05:51
So I like to think that the LowlineLOWLINE actually其实 brings带来
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所以我想 地下花园实际上
05:53
my own拥有 family's家庭的 story故事 full充分 circle.
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让我的家族故事有了一个完整的循环
05:55
If my grandparents祖父母 and my parents父母 were really
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如果说我的祖父母和父母那一辈
05:57
focused重点 on building建造 the city up and out,
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是真正的专注于构建这座城市
06:01
I think my generation is focused重点 on reclaiming回收
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那么我想我们这一代人正专注于改造
06:03
the spaces空间 that we already已经 have,
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我们已有的空间
06:05
rediscovering重新发现 our shared共享 history历史,
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重新发现我们共同的历史
06:07
and reimaginingreimagining how we can make our communities社区
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以及重新思考我们怎样才能使我们的社区
06:09
more interesting有趣, more beautiful美丽 and more just.
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更有趣 更漂亮 更公正
06:12
Thanks谢谢.
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谢谢
06:14
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by chunhua zhang
Reviewed by Justine Bai

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Barasch - Strategist
Dan Barasch’s grandmother grew up in New York’s Lower East Side. Now, he’s building an underground park in her old neighborhood, where greenspace is limited.

Why you should listen

Dan Barasch is the co-founder and executive director of the Lowline, an underground park that is being developed underneath the streets of New York City—in the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal. In use from 1908 to 1948, this terminal is now abandoned. The Lowline will be a one-acre park in a neighborhood where greenspace is hard to come by. The project uses innovative solar technology to capture light above ground and distribute it below, making it a space that can be used in all four seasons. Once a wild idea, the project got a big boost on Kickstarter, raising more than $155,000 for its development in 2012. The project promises to be the inverse of New York's High Line.

Barasch has long known that he wanted to make a difference, but for years, wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. Before he left his job to work fultime on the Lowline, he led strategic partnerships at PopTech; held multiple roles at Google; and worked in small business development in New York City government. He also consulted for UNICEF in Nairobi and with the 9/11 Survivors’ Fund in Washington DC. He began his career at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, co-producing the weekly NPR show “It’s Your World.”

More profile about the speaker
Dan Barasch | Speaker | TED.com